So we, the taxpayers, via metroplex, will give mcdonalds, a multi million dollar company, $25,000 toward improving the site?

Quoted from bumblethru

So we, the taxpayers, via metroplex, will give mcdonalds, a multi million dollar company, $25,000 toward improving the site?

Depends on where your 401K/government pension is invested........

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Glenville supervisor hurting residents in two different ways

    Regarding the June 17 article, “Dispatch plan could get changes”: I must respond to notify all residents about what is happening in our town.
    Glenville Supervisor Chris Koetzle has been hesitant to agree to the countywide dispatch plan that all of the other municipalities have reviewed and approved. He is worrying about whether or not the cost is actually going to decrease!
    As a former public safety dispatcher, I can attest to the fact that having all of the county dispatchers in one location not only makes sense, it will improve public safety. Everyone will be aware of any emergencies in any municipality at all times and without delay. Instead of worrying about public safety, our town supervisor has developed a plan to tax the little guy.
    Recently the board passed the Vacant Building Registry, which will assess a charge on anyone who owns a vacant property. In this economy, selling or renting a vacant property can take an extremely long time.
    In December 2008, my parents, Ralph and Elaine Fazio, were killed during the ice storm, due to carbon monoxide poisoning. Our family decided that we wanted to keep their house in the family, and my husband and I took possession of the home to raise our twin boys in the house that my parents had built. This left our [existing] home vacant! It has been on the market since May 10, 2009, with many price drops but no sale. The lawn is mowed and it is not noticeable that the home is vacant. However, a home on the corner of that same road has a lawn that is mowed occasionally and it gets so long it is a hazard to motorists attempting to pull onto Vley Road. But when complaints are made to the town, nothing is done.
    Now the town has passed legislation that will tax me for suffering a personal tragedy. I feel this is not how residents of this town deserve to be treated. The town board needs to focus on public safety, not increasing public outrage!

    MICHELE DRAVES
    Glenville
The writer is a member of the Scotia-Glenville Democratic Committee.

http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00703&AppName=1

is this about county dispatch or your peronal real estate issues????  

personally - i think schenectady county should set a precedent and send the grant money back to the bankrupt state!!!  only police dept with problems is schdy city cops. towns handle their own business just fine.  and i am sure if the towns and city sat down they could work out a way to communicate more effectively.   What happens when an accident happens on a county line?? how does albany and schdy communicate? montgomery county? saratoga? dont stop at county dispatch - go for the whole dam state!!!!!!!!!!       

as far as glenville goes - registry is a bad idea - simply use or update town codes and enforce them!!!  Rotterdam should do the same!!!!  Its not right to pay extra for a property just because it is vacant.  But it is right to be fined extra if you cant maintain your property in a reasonable manner.  Simply becuase letting your property go to sh@t effects those around you!!!!   > > > > > > > >  

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SCOTIA
Rental certificate program proposed
BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter

    Village officials are hoping a rental property inspection program will help improve fi re safety.
    The Board of Trustees is introducing legislation to implement a rental certificate program. Mayor Kris Kastberg said the idea is to split up these properties so that each year roughly one-third of them are inspected by the fi re department to make sure the smoke detectors are functioning properly and there are no other life safety or code issues. The board will hold a public hearing on this proposal at next month’s meeting.
    “The goal is to have this in place and ready to go in September,” Kastberg said.
    The village has about 500 to 600 rental units.
    It established a Code Committee last year to try to address problems with dilapidated buildings that residents said were harming the village’s quality of life.
    Trustee Andrew Kohout said it is good to see this rental inspection program moving forward.
    “That was one of the main reasons why we formed the committee,” he said.
    Kastberg said he is looking at a review of code enforcement since he believes Building Inspector Dan Adams intends to retire soon. Right now, code issues are handled by Adams’ office, the fi re department and the Department of Public Works. Kastberg believes that perhaps some consolidation is needed.
    The board scheduled a work session for Tuesday at 6 p.m. to discuss code enforcement issues. .................>>>>........................>>>>......................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00804&AppName=1

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SCOTIA
Parties field candidates for village offices
BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Michael Goot at 395-3105 or mgoot@dailygazette.net.

    Candidates are already lining up for this fall’s mayor and Board of Trustees races.
    On the Democratic side, Mayor Kris Kastberg is seeking re-election to a second four-year term and Deputy Mayor Joe Rizzo is also seeking his third four-year term as trustee. Joining the Democratic ticket is Cathy Gatta, who is seeking her first term as a trustee.
    The Republicans are fielding Randy Lombardo for mayor and incumbent Tom Neals for a second term on the board. They do not have a second trustee candidate.
    Kastberg, a technology teacher at Scotia-Glenville High School, said he is running again to continue improvements that have been done including paving streets and restoring the riverbank. The latter was accomplished with grant funding. “We did it without having to ask taxpayers for money,” he said.
    He also said he is pleased to have focused on improving facades in the village and successfully lobbying county officials to help with removing the vacant McDonald’s property on Mohawk Avenue.
    Kastberg, who also has the Independence, Working Families and Conservative lines, would like to address code violations in the village and work to obtain grant funds to replace the pumping infrastructure that draws village water from the reservoir on Sunnyside Road.
    Lombardo, a former restaurant manager, said he is running on the Republican line because the village needs more fi scal responsibility.
    He said the town should merge its highway and parks and recreation department with Glenville. “We need to find ways we can consolidate services as well as control spending, control payroll,” he said.
    Lombardo said the village should explore entering into purchasing cooperatives with other municipalities to lower costs. He also said if elected, his pay would be $1.
    Lombardo has been actively involved with the Scotia-Glenville Republican Committee. He has experience in running York Steak House and other restaurants. A disability caused by a back injury has forced him to retire from those positions. He also served in the U.S. Air Force from 1975 to 1981. ................>>>>...............>>>>>..................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00901&AppName=1

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GLENVILLE
Glenridge Road project to begin in 2011
BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter

    The start of construction on a project to widen Glenridge Road and install a roundabout at its intersection with Maple Avenue has been delayed one year because of a lack of state funding.
    Work will start in the spring of 2011, according to James MacFarland, Glenville’s director of operations.
    “The project is definitely a go. Next year they’ll really be doing a lot of the utility work,” he said.
    The project involves widening a one-mile portion of Glenridge Road from Maple Avenue to Route 146 to create 11-foot travel lanes and 6-foot shoulders. The underpasses of two railroad bridges will also be widened but the height of the bridges themselves will not change. One of those underpasses is currently so narrow that there is only one travel lane and the flow of traffic is controlled by a stop light.
    DOT spokesman Peter Van Keuren confirmed the delay. State officials are estimating the cost at about $10 million to $15 million
    State officials met with the town recently to update the project. MacFarland said water and sewer line and other utility relocation is scheduled to occur in 2011. Then, the other facets of the project can begin in the 2012 construction season and be completed in 2013.
    One of the goals of the project is to eliminate congestion at that intersection of Glenridge Road and Maple Avenue. .......................>>>>...................>>>>.................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01702&AppName=1

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SCOTIA
Village approves rental unit inspection rule
Landlords face fees, must meet fire, building codes
BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Michael Goot at 395-3105 or mgoot@dailygazette.net.

    All rental units will be required to be inspected every three years for compliance with fire and building codes under a new law the Board of Trustees passed on Tuesday.
    Village officials designed the law to try to address blight and unsafe conditions in Scotia, which has about 600 rental units. The law states that if upon inspection, the residence does not comply with codes, the owner will have 30 days to address the problems. Village officials plan to split the units so one-third per year would be inspected.
    The rental inspection permit will cost the property owner $25 per unit and $10 for each unit in the same building inspected at the same time as the initial unit.
    Fines for noncompliance could include a fine of not more than $500 or up to 15 days in jail.
    Al Pirigyi, who owns a rental property on Mohawk Avenue, spoke in opposition to the law at the public hearing — saying it was unfairly singling out rental properties.
    “I’m somewhat opposed to a mandatory inspection because for the majority of us landlords that’s not needed,” he said. Pirigyi added that the new law would be an inconvenience for his tenants and the village has the authority to go after private property owners to address code problems and it does not need this law.
    In a letter to the board, he also stated that the village has imposed other laws such as requiring landlords to have a local emergency contact and fire lock boxes that may be well-intentioned but may have unintended consequences. He said the current economic climate is the worst he has seen since purchasing his property in 1989. Decreasing rents and increasing or level costs limit the funds available for improvements.
    Mayor Kris Kastberg said the law, which takes effect Sept. 1, was crafted during about six months of careful consideration where board members discussed many of Pirigyi’s points. ................>>>>......................>>>>...............http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01600&AppName=1

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GLENVILLE
Retiring worker perks rejected
BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter

    Glenville officials have decided not to participate in the state’s early retirement incentive program.
    The Town Board voted Wednesday not to offer either Part A or Part B of the retirement package.
    Part A allows towns to target specific positions and extend employees’ number of months of service toward their retirement for every year they have worked up to a maximum of three additional years.
    Municipalities could target specific positions and need to show that they would see a 50 percent savings.
    Part B would allow employees 55 and older with at least 25 years of service to retire without a pension reduction.
    Supervisor Chris Koetzle said the cost for Part A would have been about $340,000 — an unbudgeted expense.
    “The payout was too expensive. The payback was too long,” he said.
    Six people would have qualified under the incentive — three in the Highway Department, one dispatcher, one dog control employee and one secretary. Those employees would have been able to cash out their unused sick time. Employees can accumulate up to 1,200 hours of sick time and 800 hours of comp time. This would translate into 30 weeks of sick time and 20 weeks of comp time.
    Koetzle said for those employees, the payout would have worked out to about half of their salary. .................>>>>.........................>>>>..................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00902&AppName=1

what a plume of smoke up our asses.....

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GLENVILLE
New store set for site
BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter

A major national retailer plans to move into the longvacant Kmart on Route 50 and could open as soon as 2012.
Metroplex Development Chairman Ray Gillen said Wednesday that the existing site would be razed. RD Management, which owns the property, has signed the retailer to occupy a 134,000-square-foot building.
“It’s a very prominent name. They do not want to share their name publicly until they get the approvals in place,” Gillen said.
Metroplex is going to be the lead agency on the project, which will cost $17 million and be completely privately funded.
“Our role is really being quarterback on the approvals,” he said......................>>>>................>>>>..................................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01103&AppName=1

Let's see what kind of tax deal Metroplex cuts with this store.

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Metroplex is going to be the lead agency on the project, which will cost $17 million and be completely privately funded.
“Our role is really being quarterback on the approvals,” he said

If this is a 'private deal.....then wth does the metroplex have to do with it??? To quarterback approvals? I mean really. If this is an already established, successful company, I'm sure they have done this before without the help of Gillen or the taxpayer's money!!

Better watch out Glenville!!

more transparency

Another good thing coming to Schenectady County -- a new department store.   Thanks to the
great work of Metroplex and Ray Gillen.